Maryland says reports of AD Kevin Anderson’s ouster are ‘false’

A series of reports on Saturday indicated that Maryland was set to fire athletic director Kevin Anderson, in what would be a stunning move. Several said Anderson had been placed on leave and would likely not return to the job. But Maryland, in a statement Saturday afternoon, pushed back on reports that Anderson was out:

Reports of his firing were a surprise to people who have worked closely with Anderson. “Did not see this coming,” one said. A Maryland spokesman pointed to the above statement when asked Saturday afternoon about Anderson’s status.

Anderson had been connected to other athletic director jobs over the years, since not long after he joined the school in 2010. That included Texas in 2013 and was rumored to recently include Cal.

Maryland’s athletic department isn’t perfect, but part of the surprise here is that Anderson’s put together a pretty strong resume there. He whiffed on his first football coaching decisions, firing Ralph Friedgen after 2010 and replacing him with Randy Edsall, who never succeeded during a four and a half-year run. But he replaced Edsall with a strong hire in DJ Durkin, and his men’s basketball hire, Mark Turgeon, has built Maryland into one of the best programs in the Big Ten.

Anderson’s teams have won six national championships, all in non-revenue sports, and shown varying good things in football and men’s hoops. The school’s move from the ACC to the Big Ten in 2014 has been a good thing.

More detail on Anderson’s situation from Inside Maryland Sports’ Jeff Ermann:

University president Wallace Loh informed Anderson of his intentions to relieve Anderson of his duties last weekend, likely ending his seven-year tenure overseeing Terps athletics, per sources. Anderson’s quietly been on leave for nearly three weeks, sources said, and hasn’t attended the past two football games while Loh moved toward parting ways with him.

Under Armour Kevin Plank intervened last week and it appeared Anderson’s dismissal would be put on hold indifenintely. Reports surfaces today that Log fired Anderson this morning, but two sources close to the situation couldn’t confirm that.

Ermann and Blanco both reported that Maryland boosters, or “insiders,” are pushing for the school to hire former men’s basketball coach Gary Williams as athletic director. Anderson hired Williams to a fundraising job not long after the coach retired in 2011. Williams has continued to draw at least a $400,000 salary from the university.